I had not read any memoes about Condi Rice hosting The Colbert Report but here she is practicing for it over in Russia....

"
In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development," Rice told reporters after meeting with human-rights activists.

"I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma," said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament....

The State Department frequently has criticized what Washington regards as creeping authoritarianism among Putin and other top Russian leaders.

Its most recent human-rights report on Russia notes continuing centralization of power in the Kremlin, a compliant legislature, political pressure on the judiciary, intolerance of ethnic minorities, corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, and media restrictions and self-censorship. Link

Self-awareness is not the wingnuts strongest suit, I know, but my goodness....change two words in that last paragraph and you have Putin talking about the U.S.

The kicker is how Bush, the Dick, Condi, Gates and others continue to be surprised that other nation's leaders ain't buying the bullsh*t U.S. neo-cons have been selling.

These leaders who don't appreciate the counsel of Bushies must be rogue leaders of rogue nations, huh?